Grey skies, occasional downpours and a gale-force wind made it difficult to see events on the Rowley Mile in Newmarket last week in the context of spring, never mind the summer or the Flat season as a whole. But there were several races at the Craven meeting that may prove significant as the season moves towards the first four Classics and then on to Royal Ascot, including both of the recognised trials for the Guineas in early May.

It is 28 years since the winners of both the Nell Gwyn Stakes and Craven Stakes went on to win their respective Guineas races a couple of weeks later, and a prep race is no longer seen as preferable – or even desirable – before the opening Classics. Both Hot Snap (4-1) and Toronado (3-1) are very realistic Guineas contenders, however, and it is not just traditionalists and Newmarket's annual members who may be interested in 19-1 for the follow-up double.

Both horses are trained by elder statesmen of the Flat, and Hot Snap's trainer, Sir Henry Cecil, was also responsible for Oh So Sharp, who was one of the two Classic winners to prep at the Craven meeting in 1985 (Shadeed was the other). While Cecil has 25 British Classics to his name already, however, Richard Hannon will be hoping to record his fourth, and his first since 1990, when Toronado goes to post on Saturday week.

Twenty-three years is a long wait for a domestic Classic for a trainer with Hannon's resources, even allowing for his reputation as a master trainer of juveniles. Now that he appears to have a genuine contender not just for the 2,000 Guineas but also for the Derby, however, the 6-4 about Hannon for the trainers' title – available at the time of writing with Ladbrokes and Boylesports – suddenly looks a very big price.

Hannon ran nearly 300 horses last year and his strength is undiminished this season, so sheer weight of numbers alone will carry him past most of his domestic rivals, including many of the big Newmarket yards.

Aidan O'Brien, meanwhile, who is Hannon's most significant rival for the title according to the betting, won the first four Classics last season yet still did not win the title, and Kingsbarns, his prime Derby contender, seems likely to miss the race.

John Gosden, who blanked in the Classics and had only three British Group One wins, showed in 2012 that success in the trainers' championship can be founded on a lot of horses that contribute a little rather than one or two that win a long series of events at the highest level.

Hannon, the champion in both 2010 and 2011, has always had the numbers but now has a long list of blue-chip owners too. His string scarcely suffers dips in form from one year to the next and his fast start to 2013 is likely to continue. His price of 6-4 for the title may not sound generous but even that could be a distant memory in a couple of weeks' time.